


Parenthood

by LizAnn_5869



Series: Life, Or What Happens When You're Busy Making Other Plans [6]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4602885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizAnn_5869/pseuds/LizAnn_5869
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short stories about parent and child relationships in the Hardy and Miller household.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ellie and Daisy Watch a Movie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sgt_Pepperony94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sgt_Pepperony94/gifts).



> This chapter takes place immediately after my story "Sea Change." In it Hardy rescued a child and it resulted in a minor heart scare. It's very much still on Daisy's mind. The other chapters will explore Hardy's relationship with all three kids and Ellie and Tess coming to an understanding about Daisy.

It was late in the evening of their beach day, and Alec, still exhausted by his search and rescue of the little girl on the beach, decided to turn in long before Ellie and Daisy were ready. He gave Ellie a sweet kiss on the lips and Daisy a kiss on the forehead and headed upstairs. Tom was in his room playing video games and Fred was asleep, so Daisy and Ellie were the last two standing.

"Wanna put in a movie?" Ellie asked.

"I suppose," Daisy answered.

"We'll do it the old fashioned way- no Netflix. Have a look through the DVD's and see what you want. I'll make some popcorn." With that, Ellie was up and out of the room. Daisy shrugged and went to the box that held the DVD's they hadn't unpacked yet. She really wasn't in the mood for a movie. She felt restless and nervous, but she reckoned maybe a movie would calm her nerves. So, of course she started looking through a collection of old horror movies. She couldn't decide if she wanted a serial killer, or an alien invasion or perhaps a romantic comedy.

After a while Ellie came back, and Daisy was still sitting on the floor, a copy of "Scream" in one hand and "An Affair to Remember" in the other. She was looking pensively at the stairs.

"Well, that's an unusual double feature," Ellie remarked. She sat on the couch.

Daisy glanced down at what she had and smirked, rolling her eyes. She put the movies down and joined Ellie. She glanced at the stairs again. "Ellie....do you ever just want to go upstairs and check if...I don't know...he's still breathing?" She said it lightly but the worry in her eyes gave her away.

Ellie gave Daisy's forearm a little reassuring squeeze. "Well...yeah. I do worry. A lot. It's much better now that he has the pacemaker, though. Honestly, Daisy, today was unusual. Your dad really overdid it and it took a bit longer for his heart rhythm to recover."

"But it did, with the pacemaker's help, right? Otherwise....it'd be like those hospital shows where they always end up shocking the bloke's heart."

Ellie suppressed a shudder. Once he had collapsed, right as he confessed to her he was dying, and she had watched paramedics use the defibrillator on him. They had to shock him twice before his heart started beating right. She'd never been so terrified, and they weren't even really friends yet. She could still remember the sick feeling in her stomach as she held her own breath, watching them save him.

"Right," was all she could say around the enormous lump in her throat.

"I'm glad he found Sophie but he could have died. So many times he could have died, and we'd 've never talked. All that was wasted time. He doesn't know how to take care of himself, Ellie. We have to just really watch him," Daisy decided, visibly upset.

"We will. I made him promise never to hide any problems with his heart. He knows that his heart rhythm will be the least of his worries if ever tries to hide it."

Daisy smiled. She knew Ellie was telling the truth, and she also knew she'd be there cheering Ellie on. "Thanks.....for the first time in a really long time I know somebody's looking out for him."

"Well...he's looking out for me, too."

"I was always afraid, you know. After Dad moved out I was always afraid to talk to him and get close again because I reckoned he'd either just leave again or...he'd just not wake up one day. I knew he was sick, no one had to tell me. I just didn't know the specifics. It was easier to not deal with it...I feel horrible about that now. Felt horrible about it then, really.... I should have been there to keep an eye on him. Maybe he would have gotten help for it sooner." Tears were freely flowing now, and Ellie pulled Daisy into her embrace.

"Daisy, sweetie, it's okay. Your dad is so happy to have you back in his life." Ellie's heart ached for Daisy, yet another child forced to take on adult issues. "You're a kid. You're not responsible for taking care of Alec. He is, no matter what a bloody awful job he does at it. You've got a tough enough job growin' up and findin' your way, let alone watchin' him. Leave that to me!" Daisy gave a watery chuckle.

"He can be such a git sometimes," Daisy commented.

"Bless. I usually call him knob or worse, but yes, you're right." They both chuckled then.

Daisy sobered. "I'm glad he has you, y'know. I don't know if I could leave him if you weren't here."

"Oh, sweetheart, I got this. He'll be fine. He'll have so much company it'll drive him spare. But you know, this is your house too. You are welcome here anytime."

Daisy smiled brilliantly. "I want to come back soon. Dad and I talked about maybe in a few weeks."

"I'd love it. So would your dad."

"It won't be long now before I can just come here without Mum's permission. I'm not staying away from Dad anymore, and she knows it."

Ellie nodded but privately hoped that it wouldn't be the start of new tensions. Tess was already disgruntled by the new living arrangements. That had resulted in some words between Alec and Tess and in the end she kept the plans the same for the summer, but she made it clear she was checking out the situation. Alec had gotten her to agree to put off her visit until she picked Daisy up by telling her the fallout between her and Daisy would be horrible if she charged in and ordered Daisy to come home. Tess had been wise enough to understand that Alec was right.

"Still want to watch a movie?" Daisy asked.

"Sure, which one? Romance with Cary Grant or slashers in weird masks?"

"Cary Grant for the feels," Daisy decided.

"The feels?" Ellie smirked, popping in the DVD.

*****

Alec woke, sensing that Ellie wasn't there. He could vaguely hear the TV downstairs and wondered if she fell asleep in front of it again. He decided he'd go tell her wake up and go to sleep.

Instead of a sleeping Ellie, he found crying Ellie, and a weeping Daisy. He recognized Cary Grant on the screen, in a tearful embrace with Deborah...whatever her last name was.

On the list of things Alec Hardy did not understand about women, (and it was a long list) there was an entry for watching tearjerking movies. He could not comprehend why a woman would want to make herself cry on purpose.

"Be up soon, love," Ellie said over her shoulder, all red eyed and stuffy nosed.

"This movie is so brilliant," Daisy sobbed.

Alec shook his head, kissed Ellie, and went back up to bed.


	2. Tess And Daisy at Summer's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tess comes to pick up Daisy at summer's end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place immediately after "Ellie and Daisy Watch a Movie." Mostly Tess' point of view, which was tough to write.

Tess wanted to hate Ellie Miller. Really, properly hate her, cast her as the villainous step mom (even if they weren't married, God forbid they should do....)

Instead, as she watched her daughter, (a young woman now, when the hell did that happen?) dozing in the front seat of the car, she found that she didn't hate Ellie.

She sort of liked Ellie. Well, found her to be a good hostess and she was certainly a kind person, at any rate.

It was quite the shock.

She had been close to hate during the Sandbrook case. Look at Ellie, finding big clues. Look at Alec, staring at her like the sun shone out of every orifice. They weren't together properly yet but he was clearly already over the moon. Hell, he'd already done a few orbits around the moon. Tess knew that look on his face. Years ago, she had put it there herself.

When Daisy called to chat, Tess realized that her daughter was firmly on Team Ellie. We got a house! We're moving in with Ellie! Dad's with Ellie, by the way! Hooray for Saint Ellie!

She tried to position it with Alec that he was bringing too much change into Daisy's life. She had words with Alec. (Well, that was nothing new, but still, she had to get her point across.) Eight weeks with Daisy, that was the deal. Not eight weeks moving in with a girlfriend. With kids. With the wife of the murderer of a young boy. 

Okay, maybe that last part was not as big of an issue, even if the bastard had gone free. It was just...because it was Ellie.

Alec had been firm. He reminded her that the fallout of her charging in and demanding Daisy come home would likely be horrible. He'd gotten his full eight weeks, but Tess demanded to check out the house. He had managed to talk her into waiting until she picked Daisy up. She took a room at the Trader's a day early. She came on Wednesday afternoon. Daisy wasn't due to leave until Thursday. Both knew that this was the last summer she'd have any say over custody. Next year Daisy would be free to go wherever she pleased. 

Tess had a suspicion she would head right back to Broadchurch.

On Tuesday she got her room at the Traders, then plugged the directions to Alec's new house into the GPS. She was hoping to talk Daisy into coming back to the Traders with her for the remainder of the time, so she'd gotten a double room. 

When she arrived at the new house, she took in the sight. It was a lovely, old home with a nice front porch. She had been prepared to dislike it, she wanted to, but she found it charming. Not her taste at all, but charming. It was bigger than she thought it would be. Daisy loved old houses, and Tess had heard all of her enthusiastic descriptions, looked at all the pictures Daisy had sent. Daisy had even sent a picture of the orchid paint they were using for her room. 

She rang the doorbell and immediately heard a toddler commotion inside. The door opened and Ellie appeared, holding a little boy back by the criss cross straps on his overalls. 

"Hello," Ellie said with a friendly smile. "Have a good trip?"

"Bloody long drive alone, but it was fine." Tess answered. 

"It's a long one," Ellie agreed, still smiling. Tess was finding it hard not to return it. "Everyone's out back. You just happened to catch us inside, some one needs a nap."

"No nap," Fred protested. "Who dat?" He pointed at Tess.

"That's Tess, sweetie. She's Daisy's mum."

Fred didn't look impressed. "My Daisy," he proclaimed.

Ellie snickered a bit. "As you can see, they've become best mates."

Tess wasn't about to get into a yours-mine tussle with a toddler so she just nodded with a tight smile. 

"Well...let's go out. Alec took a couple of hours off and I'm home today anyway, so we were in the back attempting to garden. Never had rose bushes before, and I'm hoping they'll survive the winter...,"  
Tess really wasn't interested in rose bushes and Ellie knew it, but she still felt compelled to fill in the awkward silence. Ellie was still prattling on about the house and the garden when she opened the back door. 

Tess stopped short at the sight before her. Alec was kneeling on a blanket in front of one of the rose bushes, clippers in hand, looking over his shoulder at Daisy. Daisy was a shade darker than she was when she had left Sandbrook and she looked radiant. She was laughing at something Alec was saying. Alec looked healthier. Still sporting the rubbish beard, as she could see, but but healthier and happy. She couldn't recall the last time she saw him smiling. She glanced back at Ellie. Ellie had put that smile on his face. Ellie and Daisy both. She also realized without a doubt that she would have to share Daisy. No matter how angry or jealous she was she couldn't begrudge her daughter that happiness. It had been too long since she had seen Daisy's smile. Her childhood smile.

"Hi, Mum," Daisy said brightly. Tess saw Alec's smile fade a bit, but he kept the remnants of it for Daisy's sake. 

They met in the middle of the yard, hugging each other tightly. "Beach living looks good on you," Tess told her daughter. She observed some very Alec-like freckles on Daisy's nose. She was beautiful. 

****  
Daisy balked at coming back to the Traders with Tess after dinner. She wanted to spend the last few hours with her dad and after spending time with Alec and his new family, Tess ended up heading back to the hotel alone. "You could stay here tonight," Ellie suggested when she and Tess had a moment alone in the back garden. "Why drive all the way back?"

Tess was taken aback by Ellie's graciousness. "I....no, I've already paid for the room. But thank you." There was a pause. "I appreciate all you've done for Daisy. I hear a lot about it, when she calls me. She's enjoyed it, being with you and the children. And her dad, of course."

"I'm glad they were able to spend some time together," Ellie remarked. "Alec was really nervous about it, but it went well, I think. Of course, we hadn't exactly planned to spend the time moving and such."

"I really hated the idea of you lot moving in together," Tess began. "I thought we had it all set up for Daisy to spend the first substantial time with her dad in years. Instead I find out that he's with you, and you're all moving in together and she's playing big sister to your sons." Ellie kept quiet. The expression on her face was the neutral one she wore when she was waiting for the perp she was interrogating to step in it and incriminate himself, Tess thought. She softened what she imagined to be quite a harsh expression and continued, "I was extremely skeptical but I've heard nothing but positives. Daisy's been expressive in a way she hasn't since Alec moved out. Dave and I dont usually see this Daisy. She's happy. So....thank you for that. Thank you for making her feel welcome."

"It's easy to love Daisy," Ellie replied. "I didn't know what to expect with her. I didn't know if she'd even like me, or like that I was with Alec."

"She loves it, trust me. I'm always hearing about it. She loves being the big sister. We couldn't give her that so....it's nice that she has your boys. And she is crazy about you. I should be jealous."

"I'm not competing for her. She has a mum. If she feels like she has a friend...or an aunt or however she feels about me, then I'm happy. She doesn't need another mum. If she needs my support, she's got it. And she's welcome here anytime. It's her home too. I feel like she's one of mine. But you're the mum."

"I....appreciate that, Ellie."

"We both happen to love Daisy. You and both share that. I'll be honest with you, Tess. I don't think I can ever be your friend but I'll always respect you as her mum, so just know that." She said this with the same kindness with which she spoke of her love for Daisy. 

"Point taken," Tess said. With a small smile and a gentler tone than she was used to using, she added, "for the record, I don't think I can be your friend either." They both snickered, and what could have been a horrendously awkward situation was diffused.

"Now," Ellie said, "you're staying for dinner, right?"

So Tess knew where she stood with Ellie, and for once she didn't take it as a personal affront. She was graciously fed a good dinner (takeaway, but still good) and Alec and her had managed to embarrass Daisy with childhood stories at the table. The boys were nice kids, even if one was a semi-sullen teenager and the other was a hyperactive toddler. It was pleasant. Not at all what she was expecting.

Alec hung back when Ellie and the kids got up to go out to the back garden. He made eye contact with Tess, and she knew him well enough to know that he had something to say.

"Wanted to talk to you before you headed back to the Traders," he said 

"Thought so. Daisy's staying here tonight. I thought she'd come back with me, but she'd like another night here. Ellie actually asked me to stay here tonight. I said no. I imagine you're relieved." 

"I can honestly say I don't have any feelings either way," Alec responded. He wasn't going to rise to the bait. "Daisy and I have been talking. In about four weeks she has a long weekend off. We'd like to have her back for that. We'll pick her up."

"Well, I don't know....with school and activities...." She trailed off. She could tell, just by his eyes, that the time when he would back off of she raised an objection was over.

"If she has schoolwork we'll get it done. I'm willing to transport her. There's no reason to object. She wants to come. There's also no reason to remind me who has primary custody." He could read her as well. 

She set her jaw. "I wasn't going to, Alec."

"Just understand, by this time next year she'll be making her own decisions about where she goes. I want her to have a relationship with both of us. Don't throw road blocks up between Daisy and me. I'm not willing to sit by and let weeks turn into years before I see her again. And I don't think she'll be willing to, either."

"Are you threatening me, Alec?"

"Simply stating a fact. I don't want her to be kept from Ellie and me because as soon as she's old enough to do it, she'll walk away from you. The fallout will be horrible."

Tess knew he was right. In the end, she told a delighted Daisy that she'd be making a return trip in four weeks. And that she and Alec would work it out for her to be there more often. Daisy was thrilled, and Tess guessed she was back in the plus column.

*******

And now, in the car with Daisy asleep in the passenger seat, Tess found herself doing something she was never really comfortable with: examining her motives. 

She knew she had no right to be jealous of Alec and Ellie's relationship. And she really wasn't. Okay, no, she thought, if we're going to be honest, then yes, she was a bit jealous of them. Good sense told her she lost any claim on Alec once Dave had her knickers off in the back seat of the police car that first time.

And really, she wasn't jealous that he was in love. Tess had wanted to think that this relationship with Ellie, moving in, and parenting her children was just another case of Alec's reckless decision making. She wanted to put it right up there with hiding a life threatening heart condition. She could plainly see it wasn't. Her ex-husband's life was back on track after being cocked up for so long. (She didn't think too hard or long about her own contributions to his cocked-up life. That would be taking her ruminating into uncomfortable, uncharted territory. Best not go there yet.) 

Watching Ellie and Alec together that day, she realized he might have gotten it right this time. She saw the ease in which they parented together, the ease in which he took having two more kids in stride. She saw that Alec still thought Daisy hung the moon, but Fred helped straighten it out if it was knocked crooked. There had been a time when they hoped for another, when Daisy was three, but it wasn't meant to be. Her career took off at the same time they learned of her fertility issues and it just never happened. Daisy had always wanted to be a big sister, and now she finally could. 

Things were wonderful in Alec Hardy's world for the first time in a very long time.

Tess couldn't say the same about her own world with Dave. And that was something else she didn't want to examine too closely. Best not go there either. 

No, it was easier to be jealous of that Family Daisy had found herself in Broadchurch. She felt Broadchurch tugging her daughter away from her.

Daisy was just never going to feel the same way about Dave, no matter what Dave did to try to ingratiate himself. ("It's like you married the color beige," Daisy had said in one of her snarky moments. Daisy's remarks could be just as cutting as hers.). But Sandbrook was Daisy's home, and she would adjust again. She would encourage her to reconsider her feelings about Dave, because if Ellie was going to be a big part of her life, then so should he. 

Ninety minutes earlier she had watched as Daisy struggled not to cry when she hugged Ellie and Fred, when she pulled Tom into an awkward one armed hug, (and was surprised when Tom wasn't the first to let go). She couldn't play it cool when hugging her dad, though, and she had held on for a while. Both of them were wiping their eyes when they finally broke apart with promises to get together soon. Tess saw the slump in Daisy's shoulders when she finally got into the car, and heard little Fred begging her not to leave. And that petty part of Tess recalled the way Daisy had bounced out of the house to Alec's car eight weeks ago. 

Well. It was time to get back on track. School was starting soon. Time to get back to the busyness of school and violin lessons. Maybe Tess could find some time to volunteer at the school. She resolved to. Because it was time to get Daisy to Sandbrook. Back home.

*****  
Back at Alec and Ellie's house, Alec was sitting alone on the swing, waiting for Ellie. He missed Daisy. It felt like a part of him was missing, and it wasn't an unfamiliar sensation. He hadn't forgotten it. 

Ellie came outside with two glasses wine. She sat down by Alec and handed him one of them. They clinked glasses briefly and Alec took a drink. "Doing okay?" Ellie asked.

"No," he finally said after a long pause. He had briefly thought of telling her he was fine but found he didn't have the energy to lie. "Feelin' a little lost, to be honest. I knew we'd just have eight weeks together, but I hadn't really considered how I'd feel when she left." He chuckled a bit. "I don't think Tess expected you to be so nice to her."

"What good would being nasty serve? We're all in it together, lovin' Daisy. I let her know how I felt, nicely."

"I'm sure y'did. We talked too...hopefully she's smart enough to realize that it would be worse for their relationship to keep throwin' road blocks up between Daisy and me."

"There's always hope, love." Ellie said and took a drink of wine.

"In the meantime..."

"In the meantime look forward to the next visit." 

He nodded and then took Ellie's glass out her hand and set both of them down. "Was drinkin' that," she protested, but she still leaned in for the kiss. 

Two hours away, Daisy was arriving in Sandbrook with her mother. Father and daughter both were counting the days until they were together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote and rewrote this one and I'm still not sure I like it. In the first draft, Tess was just too nice, but at the same time I didn't want her a one-note villain. It was tough one to write!


	3. Alec and Daisy at Summer's Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time traveling a bit here...this occurs right between "Saturday Night" and "Home." Alec is picking Daisy up for the summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As originally written, it was set on the London Eye during their trip to London together. After writing the story in which Tess picks up Daisy, this one popped into my head and I liked it better.  
> Daisy and Dad fluff ahead!

Alec was incredibly nervous pulling up outside Daisy's home. The anxiety had begun as he drove away from his little blue cottage after sharing a kiss with Ellie. She had brought Fred to come see him off. He wanted to pull her into the car with him but he knew he needed the time alone with Daisy. So he waved goodbye to them and with butterflies in his stomach and optimism (an unfamiliar feeling) bubbling up. The feeling really didn't abate for the entire trip. 

He rang the doorbell, and thankfully Tess answered it, as opposed to Dave. They exchanged pleasantries (dutifully) and both were relieved they didn't have to talk more when Daisy came bounding into the room and hugged him tight. She had enough luggage to take on a year long cruise to Alaska, but they managed to fit it all into the boot. ("Boot Tetris," he said, earning a laugh from his daughter. If he had had it in him to crack jokes constantly, he would have done it just to have an unlimited supply of her laughter.)

She dashed back up to her mum and hugged her goodbye. Her mother was trying to stay calm, and Daisy was on top of the world. Daisy came bouncing back to the car shortly thereafter. She and Alec both heard Tess'a parting words: "You make sure she calls me, Alec Hardy!" Alec tried not to focus much on the irony of that statement as they drove away. 

Daisy chattered away until they found a place for a late lunch in between Sandbrook and Broadchurch. He loved listening to her. He was amused by the thought of Ellie and Daisy talking and talking and not letting him get a word in edgewise. This was not the sullen, quiet, withdrawn child he had talked to in the past. Ellie had suggested they talk a lot on the phone, even showed him how to video chat before she came to visit. As usual, Miller was right. It had helped bridge the gap of nonexistent communication, and when they finally met up in person it was like little time had passed.

There was one awkward silence, after the server took their order, but then Daisy asked what he'd been up to.

It was as good a time as any, he supposed. "Well....things have been fairly busy. We had a robbery in town that might connected to one a couple of towns over, and...." He tried to slip it in smoothly. "...I'm dating."

That got her attention. The robbery was mildly interesting, Dad dating was cause for taking a pause and giving her full attention. "Really? Is it serious? And were you tryin' to be smooth tellin' me?" Well, she saw through that, apparently.

"Take it however you like," Alec replied, and Daisy chuckled.

"So...spill it, Dad. Are you dating someone seriously?"

"Seriously" didn't begin to describe how he felt about Ellie. They had become lovers just in the past couple of weeks, and he, who had thought 'never' might be the next time he would fall in love, found himself head over heels. And he'd probably been that way for a long time. 

He didn't say any of that to his daughter. He said, "Yes," and he thought Daisy might have gotten the point anyway. "It's, um...Ellie Miller. I work...worked with her. Your mum knows her..." He trailed off and hoped he didn't sound as lame as he thought he did.

"Oh! Yeah, I think I've heard of her. The murder case, I guess. And she helped you out, right?"

Saved him was more like it. "Yeah. She has a couple of kids. Boys, one's a teenager and the other's a toddler. Good kids. I'm hoping...we can all get together. Soon. Not for a bit, though...we're going to go to London for a couple days, then we'll...." Now he was hoping that it didn't sound as awkward as he thought. And that she didn't think he'd gone and replaced her.

"I'd like to meet them," Daisy said as their food arrived. As always, she dumped an ungodly amount of vinegar on her chips. "What?"

"I see that hasn't changed," he commented with a grimace.

"Never will. It's better than that brown 'chippie' sauce you use." 

"Not any more. Have to be careful, now. "

"How are you feelin'? Are you okay now?"

"I feel better now. It's been a long time since I've felt this well. Things are good."

The mood had shifted. She ate a few chips in silence then said, "That's probably something you should have always told us, Dad. About your heart. Mum told me about the pacemaker surgery, and I'm glad it went fine but if it hadn't....is that why you took me out to dinner when the weird guy interrupted us? In case it didn't?" He nodded. He didn't have an answer for her. She was right. So many secrets, and some of the worst ones were still unspoken. This wasn't the time. He really couldn't conceive of a time when he'd be ready to divulge those.

"Daisy...darlin, I have a lot of regrets about that time, and..." 

"You know I can take it. I would have wanted to know."

"I know you're a strong person. the decisions I made then are not necessarily the ones I would make now," he said. "You should know that I texted Ellie about the surgery right before it happened. None of this has been my finest hour." 

Daisy shook her head, chuckling. "And still she dates you. She puts up with a lot. I'm thinking she's a keeper."

Alec tried to look offended but the corners of his mouth were turning up. He was thinking that Daisy was right.

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly, with Alec laying out plans for a couple of days visiting London. She was thinking shopping and he was thinking historical tours so they realized they needed to compromise a bit. 

Back in the car, Daisy discovered some CD's she hadn't seen in years. After her Wiggles phase, she had reluctantly let her dad play his CD's in the car and discovered she liked them too.

Alec saw her discovery and smiled. He hadn't had them in the car for probably as long as he had been apart from Daisy. The CD's had been in the storage space, and he brought them back in hope that Daisy would remember them. 

She held up a CD case and said, "Remember when I thought you were the one singin' because they sound like you? When you talk, definitely not when you sing along!" 

His Proclaimers CD was in her hand. "We played it till the tape broke and I had to replace it on CD," Alec recalled. His daughter wasn't one to bring up anything she termed "soppy", so he knew it meant as much to her as it did to him. She put the CD in, then settled back into the seat, smiling broadly.

After a bit of driving accompanied by music, Alec glanced at his daughter, and to his surprise she was wiping her eyes furiously. He knew she hated to be caught out crying but he didn't want to let it go. "Darlin'," he said.

"I'm fine," Daisy said. "God....I hate crying. I'm happy. The song made me happy...I felt like I got some lost time back. Oh, please, just ignore the soppy person!"

Alec found that he suddenly couldn't trust his voice not to break so he patted her shoulder and focused on the road. She had just summed up how he felt rather well. 

They arrived at the blue cottage not long afterward. Then, they began the slow process of making up for too many lost summers together.


	4. Alec and Fred Fix a Meal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Fred spending quality time together. Fluffy to the max!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after "Sleep Tight."

It had been an excruciatingly long afternoon, Alec spending most of the it immersed in the never ending details of wrapping up a robbery investigation that had bloomed into an arson/ robbery task force spanning four towns up the coast. Alec was relieved to see that it was nearly time to pick Fred up from the child minder's. He felt as though his brain probably wouldn't be able to function on much more than a two year old level after all that scientific minutiae, so he'd be in good company. 

Alec really enjoyed his pick up days. He wanted to do it more often but as always, work got in the way. He always felt like one of the best parts of his day was just missing when he made it home after Fred was asleep. 

It was a sunny early October day and the five children outside on the playground were taking full advantage of the gorgeous autumn weather. They would be stuck inside all too soon. As Alec approached the gate he found Fred in the corner, pushing trucks around with Sophie and a boy whose named escaped Alec. It wasn't hard to forget the tiny ginger hurricane that was Sophie, after having pulled off a thankfully successful water rescue involving her. Alec paused at the fence to watch Fred play. 

He was so different from Daisy at that same age. It was the difference in the way they played. At the age of two Daisy was already bringing him stuffed animals and demanding tea parties. Fred crashed trucks and had car races. Although he did like to drag out his Fisher Price castle and have parties with all of his cars. Alec spent a good deal of playtime with Fred lining up cars in front of the castle. Fred rarely played with the little people. Lightning McQueen and his friends were his people. And like Daisy, he loved to listen to books. Ellie said that it was a recent development, probably because he enjoyed the way Alec did all the voices.

Daisy was more articulate at that age but Fred had grown by leaps and bounds, to the point in which most conversations were in actual words and not toddler gibberish. 

Sophie was commanding her troops as usual, and making some kind of speech to Fred and the kid whose name he couldn't recall. "I gots Mumma at my house. And all the boys and Brighton's a girl and I a girl, and Daddy's a boy," she announced. Sophie had a big family.

The other boy looked disinterested and crashed his dump truck into the fence. Fred spoke, though. "I gots a Mumma. And Tom. And my Daisy. And Awec, " he added. Alec was amused and touched that Daisy was always "my Daisy." That was a big speech for wee Fred.

Sophie put her chubby hands on her little pretend hips and asked, "Where you gots your daddy?" Fred looked a bit confused, whether by the subject or the syntax, Alec couldn't tell. It didn't matter, however, when Fred looked up at the fence and saw Alec. 

"Awec!" He squealed and Miss Patti had to remind him not to open the gate. 

Alec got to the gate before Fred could get into trouble. "Hi, mate. Ready to go?" 

Miss Patti handed Alec the clipboard with the sign out sheet, and while Alec was signing him out she informed him, "He had a good day and took a nap." Always good news to hear. Alec high-fived Fred. 

They collected his backpack, and were on their way, Fred carrying his pack like a big boy, holding Alec's hand. Already, he was starting to leave his babyhood behind. Ellie was always telling Alec that she loved that Fred was more independent now but she certainly missed the little baby he once was. Alec wished he'd been around to see his wee mate as an infant. 

Alec was startled out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed. He took time to get Fred into his car seat, letting Fred help with one of the buckles ("I do it!"). Alec hoped it wasn't SOCO or the arson investigators texting. Once he was behind the wheel he took out his phone. It was Ellie. He could practically hear her disgruntled voice as he read. "Bloody wanker Llewellen didn't show up, working till 6 to cover for the idiot till Price can get here. Can you get some takeaway? Just you, me and the wee one tonight, Bryces will bring Tom by later."

Alec grimaced at the thought of takeaway again. They'd done it enough in the past month that the person who answered the phone at the Thai place knew what their orders would be before he had a chance to speak them. "Awec! Go!" Fred had reached his limit, and needed to be on the move. Alec had been lost in thought, formulating a dinner plan. 

"Be patient, Fred! Hey, let's fix Mumma dinner tonight. What do you think?" Fred really didn't have an opinion, he just wanted to watch Peppa Pig. He shrugged. "Can you put up with a little shopping?"

"Race car?" Alec knew he meant the race car shaped trolleys they had at the store. Alec rolled his eyes. If it would get cooperation....

****

And so Alec found himself pushing a toddler in a race car shaped trolley, around the store while Fred, deep in his fantasy that he was driving a Grand Prix, made engine noises. The cars were huge and unwieldy and a right pain in the arse but Fred thought they were amazing. His little fists, just losing their baby fat, gripped a plastic steering wheel. 

The advantage to shopping in a town other than Broadchurch was that he could get the job done without stopping every two feet to talk to someone he knew. He'd been shopping with Ellie when they both still lived in town and he understood why toddlers had temper tantrums in stores. Ellie literally knew everyone in the store, down to the bag boy, and his capacity for socializing had been sorely tested. Today he moved quickly, picking up penne pasta and sauce, garlic toast and bagged salad. So it would be no frills, because that was the extent of his skill as a cook, but it would fill them all and not be takeaway. 

By the time they got to the checkout and had to wait their turn, Fred's good will was starting to wane. The cart wasn't moving, and it annoyed him. "Wanna get down, Awec!" he whined.

"Hey! I spy somethin'...red," Alec challenged him and it worked, amazingly. It was a game he had played with Daisy on long store trips when she was little. It worked like magic on his daughter, who could be a hellion in a shopping cart. (And of course, he pointed out her hatred of shopping as a toddler on their many trips to various shopping centers now that she was nearly adult.). 

It worked on Fred too, and he happily started pointing out things that were red like his favorite race car, Lightning McQueen. The elderly lady in front of them smiled and commented, "You have an adorable son!" Alec never corrected people when they made that assumption, because what was the point, trying to explain. Alec smiled back briefly and thanked her. 

They advanced in the lane and had moved onto spying green things. Alec was only half listening because his mind had drifted back to the conversation between Fred and Sophie earlier. He almost wished Fred hadn't seen him at the gate before he could answer Sophie. He wondered what Fred would have said about his daddy. 

Joe had been out of the picture long enough for Fred to have forgotten him. They didn't mention Joe around Fred, and rarely mentioned the word 'dad'. Alec certainly never pressed the issue to Tom about calling him Dad. Fred had a Mumma and an Alec, and at this point it suited him fine. 

Still, if they called him Dad, Alec wouldn't mind it. Not at all. He was settled in for a long time with Ellie, and he hoped that eventually.....

"Can we go?" Fred asked hopefully, wiggling the car. 

"It's our turn now," Alec reassured him.

*******

Alec and his assistant brought the groceries into the house. If his hands hadn't been full, Alec would have taken a picture of the hilariously serious expression Fred had as he very carefully (and with much concentration) carried in the bag containing the salad. "I did it!" he said proudly when he set it down on the table. Then he held up his little fist and quashing the giggle that was about to emerge, Alec gently bumped his fist against his. A year and a half ago, fist bumping a toddler because he successfully brought in a salad would have been the last thing Alec Hardy would have ever pictured himself doing. 

Alec set the pot of water on the stove to boil, and started frying up the hamburger. Then he fished a contraption out of the bottom of the cabinet. It was a salad spinner, and Ellie had gotten it from someone selling overpriced plastic cookware at a party. She never used it. Alec wondered why it even made the move from the old house to this one, (and the only reason he remembered it was due to questioning Ellie about what the hell it even was.) But it suited his purposes. He opened the bagged salad and dumped it in and then gave it to Fred, who happily took care of the salad while Alec did all the work at the stove. By six the house smelled like garlic bread baking in the oven and Alec felt suitably domestic.

Fred was drawing squiggly lines all over a piece of paper when the back door opened and Ellie stepped inside, looking exhausted. "Mumma! Yay! We do 'bagetti!"

Ellie paused to take in the scene. Alec was getting dishes down, Fred was proudly showing her his squiggle lines, and the kitchen was just a bit of a mess. "Wow! You cooked?"

"No, it just appeared. No idea." Ellie rolled her eyes. 

"I thought you were gettin' takeaway! You're exhausted, too!"

"This is less stressful than reading those scientific reports," Alec reasoned.

"We had nothin' in the house. You took him shopping. Wow again." She took two steps and embraced Alec tightly. She whispered in his ear, "Love you," and kissed his earlobe. A thrill went through him at her touch.

Fred, not wanting to be left out of the hug, threw his arms around Ellie's legs. "You're a great helper," Ellie said, picking up her boy. "Now, I'm gonna go take this off and put it in the laundry or burn it or something." She pulled at her uniform top with a grimace. Putting Fred down, she kissed Alec again and left the kitchen.

When he heard her feet on the stairs he leaned down to Fred's eye level and said, "She could always come work for me." Fred nodded.

******

Dinner was a success and even Tom had his fourth meal of the day when he got home and discovered the leftovers. After the dishes were in the dishwasher and Ellie was in the tub soaking after a very long shift, Alec read to Fred in the big comfy chair. This hadn't happened often lately and Alec appreciated the opportunity to do it. He was pointing out the pictures in the story. "There's Jesse Bear's Mumma and Daddy on the beach with him," he said. Fred put his finger on the daddy bear and looked back at Alec speculatively but didn't say anything other than, "We go beach." 

*****

After Fred was tucked into bed with a toy car in each hand, Ellie collapsed gratefully into the bed. Alec had his laptop out and was looking over reports again. Ellie groaned with relief when her head hit the pillow. Alec began the process of shutting down the laptop. "Did I tell you Beth's takin' Fred tomorrow when I go in at noon?" Ellie sighed. 

"I think you did. I'll probably have a late one tomorrow too with all the meetings before we go to court," Alec said. "I'm hopin' things ease up after this."

"So...about ready to kick Warren to the curb yet?" Ellie asked, referring to the overeager DS Alec was saddled with. Alec quirked an eyebrow. It was first time she'd mentioned the possibility of returning to work as a DS.

"Close to it. Jenkinson still asks about you. I know Warren's actually got an application in someplace in London." Ellie nodded but didn't elaborate. 

"Thanks for dinner, love." She said instead, and kissed him. They settled in together, lying on their sides facing each other. 

"Can't do it very often. Glad you liked it," Alec smiled. She cupped his cheek.

"Scruff's growin' back," He nuzzled into her hand. "How did it go with Miss Patti today?" she said around a yawn.

"Oh, he was terrorizin' the place. He was fine, took a nap." It had been all his mind off and on all day, so he decided to bring it up. "Heard Sophie askin' him where his dad was."

"Troublemaker," Ellie chuckled and Alec really couldn't disagree. "What did he say?"

"Nothin' really, he saw me before he could say anything." He paused, and Ellie could see something was on his mind.

"What, love?"

"Would it be a problem if he or..Tom for that matter...ever did call me...I wouldn't mind if they....."

"What the hell are you goin' on about?" Then the penny dropped and she translated his awkward speech. "Called you Dad? Is that it?"

"Yeah."

"Of course it wouldn't bother me! Don't be daft. I'd love it if they called you dad." She stroked his cheek. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't plannin' on keepin' you around forever."

"Well.....I won't push it. It's their decision. If Tom calls me Alec that's fine...."

"Can I get that in writing that it's actually fine for someone to call you Alec? she said with a cheeky grin. "After all, if he's lookin' at you and you're lookin' at him....." He chose that moment to kiss her silent. 

When the kiss ebbed away he said, "You're a right smart arse."

"Just what a girl wants to hear." She chuckled, and it turned into a huge yawn. Alec switched off the light and she rolled over. 

He spooned up behind her, their favorite way to fall asleep. She was already mostly gone when he whispered his love in her ear. She muttered it back. He felt her melt against him. As he began to doze off, he tried to pinpoint when being a dad to the boys started feeling as natural as being Daisy's dad. By the time sleep finally began to claim him he decided that it didn't matter when it happened, because by now, it felt like the feeling always was there.


	5. Alec and Tom on a Sunday Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom needs some advice from Alec.

It was Sunday, the second day of Tom's week long grounding. He had been sent home early from school- resulting in Ellie missing a shift of work to pick him up and bring him home mid morning Friday. 

Tom was sent home for fighting with another boy in the hall outside of his English class. It took a month into the school year for Tom to catch the attention of an older, bigger boy who had repeated a year and was now, unfortunately in Tom's year. All Ellie had gotten from Tom was that the kid's name was Wilson, he was a moron, and Wilson started it. Tom had thrown the first punch, though. Tom's friend Chris had intervened, but not before Tom had a nasty black eye and Wilson's lip was bleeding. The counselor said Tom refused to talk. Tom also refused to talk to Ellie about it.

She suspected it had something to do with Joe. It broke her heart. She'd hoped that maybe, the good times and happiness that they had the past summer would extend to the school year and finally, they would get out from under Joe's shadow. It appeared that it was not to be. 

Ellie could understand the fighting, because she remembered all too well the pure feeling of pain and satisfaction when she beat up Joe. She knew all about anger and the heat of the moment. It had been wrong and was probably one of the big the reasons Joe walked free in Sheffield. She understood. 

What she didn't understand was Tom shutting her out. At first he stalked up to the attic and wouldn't talk at all. By Saturday night, he was at least speaking to her but he absolutely refused to give her any details of the fight, and she needed to know. She was planning on calling the therapist on Monday.

Alec was trying to step back and let the situation play out with Ellie and Tom but it hurt to watch. Ellie wanted to help, Tom needed it, but he was being extremely stubborn. His equally stubborn mother had reached the end of her rope. Alec was still feeling out his place in the family. It was so easy to be Fred's dad. Alec was the only man he remembered being in that role, and Fred thought Alec hung the moon and honestly the feeling was mutual. Tom, on the other hand, had over a decade of a perfect dad, then had that illusion shattered. Alec was torn between being concerned about overstepping his boundaries and wanting to shout at the kid to just freaking talk to his mother.

That would have been James Hardy's solution to the situation, and he was determined not to go there. He'd been at the receiving end of fatherly ire too many times. 

By Sunday morning Ellie was completely frustrated and when Beth called and asked if she wanted to get together at the park so Lizzie and Fred could play, Alec practically pushed her out the door.  
Alec hoped Tom would talk. Maybe his "not-quite-a-parent" status would work in his favor and Tom would open up. Or he'd be finishing the Dashiell Hammett novel he started. 

If he could remember where he left it, that was. He had a vague memory of reading it in bed a few nights ago,  
and then Ellie had completely surprised him by removing his reading glasses, throughly snogging him, and then.....okay, the book was in the bedroom. Somewhere. 

Alec met Tom in the hallway. Tom mumbled something about using the loo and shuffled toward the attic door. "You don't have to stay up there, Tom. There's leftovers in the refrigerator. Shepherds pie. I'm going to fix up a plate. You want some?" Alec reckoned that appealing to a teenaged boy's stomach was a good start. It always worked for him.

"I'm not hungry....not now anyways. Maybe later," he said. "Goin' up." He pointed vaguely in the direction of the door. Alec nodded and headed for his own door.

He noticed that this time when Tom went upstairs, he left the attic door halfway closed, but halfway closed was also partially open. Alec knew better than to accept that as an invitation, but it at least it was a start.

Alec found his book, finally, on the floor between the bed and his nightstand. It must have hit the floor and he forgot about it. He had been quite distracted. Something caught his attention under the dust ruffle. It was a plastic tote marked "Hardy". Some more of that stuff not yet unpacked. He wondered if they'd find things still packed in boxes on their next moving day years in the future. He opened the tote to find the few things he'd saved from his childhood. Most things he'd given away, or chucked in a bin. When he moved out of his dad's house he had wanted a fresh start with no reminders of the way things had been in the Hardy household. 

He'd remembered moving out that day wanting a clean break and because he'd been cautiously optimistic that he would figure it all out, that life would surely be better out of his dad's house than in it. 

Well, it had taken long enough. 

The box filled with remnants of his childhood sat under his bed, and he was hard pressed to recall why he even brought it. He recalled that there might be some comic books. 

And then an idea came to Alec. Maybe he had something to break the ice after all. Alec recalled a conversation he had with Tom ages ago, when that fun fair sprung up behind his little blue chalet, and he had asked Miller if she and the kids wanted to come over. After first bitching and moaning about the fun fair's existence in the first place. By text. The date itself had turned out fantastic but the asking part had not been his finest hour. He hoped he had made up for it since then. She was living with him so he thought he might have. 

Alec opened the box, and under some books and a bag with a few Star Wars characters in it, was four comic books. He dug them out of the box to see that he had saved two Iron Man books and two Hulk books.  
He sat back and opened one of the Iron Man books and he had a memory of sitting in his room in Glasgow alone, his parents' voices harsh downstairs. He recalled becoming fairly adept at tuning them out as he read, at least until his dad's voice startled him on the other side of the bedroom door. ("Alec, move your arse! We're runnin' late for church!")

He shook himself out of his reverie. Taking a walk down memory lane was not the way he wanted to spend his Sunday afternoon. He snatched up the comic books and headed for Tom's room.

The door was still half opened. Alec chose to take that as an invitation. He knocked on it and called up the narrow attic steps, "Tom? Found something that you might be interested in.....Alec stopped at the top of the stairs, taking in the large room. Ellie had allowed posters stuck with adhesive that wouldn't damage the paint, and Alec could immediately see why a whole package of it had gone missing. He had covered the walls in skateboarding pictures. There was also a large cork board with photos and school pennants and football schedules pinned all over it. Most notably was a small school picture of Danny in one corner and a copy of the family picture taken at the beach in another. Interestingly there was a school picture of a blonde girl down in the lower corner but Alec thought he'd be pushing his luck by asking about her. 

Tom was lying on his side on the bed, sorting out some Lego blocks. He was still as fascinated with Legos now as he was as a little kid, Ellie had told Alec. She told him she'd buy Tom Legos forever if it meant he got to hold onto one innocent, happy part of his childhood.

"Well...."Alec suddenly, but not surprisingly, found himself not knowing what to say. "Found these. I remembered you said you liked Marvel. Anyways...gonna heat up the food." He tossed the comic books on the bed. Tom glanced at them, and his eyebrows raised. He was interested, then. Alec gave him a quick smile and a nod and went back down.

He rolled his eyes and mentally congratulated himself on his excellent communication skills. 

*****

When Alec left the room, Tom grabbed the top book and flopped on his back. It was the Hulk. Well, that was appropriate, considering how Friday had gone. He could definitely empathize with a guy who had some anger management issues. He'd barely controlled it when he stomped upstairs and very nearly trashed his room. The anger of what Wilson had said to him combined with his mum's incessant questioning had just about set him over the edge. Bloody hell, he wasn't a suspect in a crime, and he didn't want to be interrogated. He honestly didn't care if he was grounded. He just wanted to be alone.

Mum had been throughly frustrated with him, and he knew she had gone out with Beth mostly to get away from him. He was glad for the break as well. He was embarrassed and ashamed that he'd been so hateful, and he'd tried to make amends Saturday night, at least. But he still couldn't talk to her, tell her what Wilson said and what he wanted to do when he said it.

Tom could also plainly see what Alec was trying to do, even if Alec wasn't being pushy about it. He felt lucky that Alec wasn't like the guy Daisy's mum was with. Tom texted back and forth with Daisy and she told him a lot about life in Sandbrook. The guy always tried to be Daisy's best friend and insinuate himself when her friends came over and it drove Daisy spare. Her stepdad always tried too hard. Alec stepped back when he needed to. He was giving Tom an opening now if he wanted to take it. 

He started to thumb through the Hulk comic. As he read he was thinking that perhaps he might take the opening Alec offered.

Also, he was starving.

 

********

Alec was halfway through a plate of leftover shepherds pie when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Tom entered the kitchen, nose buried in a Hulk comic. Tom put it down long enough to serve himself a heaping helping of leftovers and stick it the microwave. He picked the book up and glanced at Alec. "These are cool," he said.

Alec nodded. "I had more but sold 'em. I must have really liked that storyline to keep it."

"It's a good one." The microwave dinged. Tom took the plate out, and throughly surprised Alec by sitting on the chair across from his. Maybe the door was half opened after all. 

They ate in companionable silence for a while, Alec finding the place where thought he'd left off in his book, Tom losing himself momentarily in the Hulk's universe. 

If this is as far as it goes, Alec thought, it's a win. At least he's not being a hermit anymore...

"Er....Alec?" Just when Alec had accepted they weren't going to do any more than sit and read in the same room, Tom surprised him. 

"Yeah?"

Tom glanced down at his comic book again and mumbled, "Nothin'" 

Alec decided he wasn't going let it go. "Tom, if you need to talk, I'm here."

"I....yeah, okay. But you're gonna tell mum what I tell you, right?"

Alec had to tread carefully. He knew his next words would have an impact on whether or not Tom chose to confide in him. 

"I won't keep secrets from your mum, lad, if it's something she needs to know to help you. "

Tom clammed up then and Alec resigned himself to it, but Tom surprised him once again.

It surprised Tom, as well. He knew probably what he had to say would get back to his mum. But the need to get it off of his chest, and the feeling that it was worth it to confide in Alec was too strong and so he spoke. "It was about Mum. And Da...Joe. The fight, that is."

"We thought so," Alec told him.

"He's a bully, Wilson. I stuck up for this little short kid he was pickin' on that's in my year and he didn't like it."

Alec nodded, impressed.

"Wilson's been lookin' for a chance for a while and I guess he found out who I am and..." Tom's mouth set in a grim line.

"He had some ammunition." Not for the first time Alec wondered if Joe truly grasped (or ever would grasp) the consequences his actions had for everyone else involved. If it ever kept Joe up at night. It surely kept Alec and Ellie up. 

"Wilson asked if I heard from Joe lately. If he had killed any kids in Sheffield. Then he told me he reckoned Mum knew about Joe and Danny. Said his mum told him the whole thing went to hell because you're a shit copper and Mum was screwin' you anyways.....he called her some horrible names that I don't want to repeat. I can put up with the stuff about Joe. But Mum....."

"I can understand why you'd want to slug him. You know that's not true, right? About me and your mum? I don't care what that kid thinks but I don't want you thinkin' it's true."

Tom nodded. "I almost walked away. Then he called Mum..anyway, I lost it. The bloody knob was grinnin' when I hit him. He totally wanted me to hit first."

Alec had to stifle a smile because Tom sounded so like Ellie in that moment. "Sounds like he really wanted to wind you up."

"It worked."

Alec nodded. "I'd want to slug him, too, Tom. And your mum would understand. She does understand. We can't have you go poppin' off on people. But believe me when I tell you we understand. Your mum's worried about you, why you won't talk to her at all. What she's imaginin' is probably a lot worse than what actually happened."

"You didn't hear what he called her."

"No, I didn't. Your mum's the strongest woman I know. She can survive name callin'. You can talk to her. Whatever you need to say. She'll listen. She might freak out a wee bit, but she'll listen."

Tom was suddenly interested in the page he had been reading, his eyes focusing on the book. He murmured "She might think I'm gonna end up like Joe."

"You're not going to. You're Ellie's son. You've got a lot of her in you. You are not your father, Tom. You can make your own choices. You've always got your mum to help you. And me too, you've always got us both. If you want my help, that is."

"I do," he said so quietly Alec almost missed it. 

Tom's downcast eyes let Alec know there was still something troubling the boy. "I really wanted to hurt him. I'd've probably gotten my arse kicked, but if Chris hadn't been there to pull me off of Wilson....Mum wouldn't understand that."

"Oh, aye. She would," Alec asserted, remembering a time when he was the one intervening before Ellie could do permanent damage to Joe. "She'd be glad you didn't do anything worse. I'm not sayin' wantin' to hurt him is right but she gets it. She really does. Talk to her, Tom. It hurts her that you won't."

Tom kept his eyes on the comic book, and Alec had the feeling the boy didn't want him to see the tears forming there. 

"And don't worry about me. I've been called the worst cop in Britain. And called worse, some of it by your mother." Tom snorted laughter at that. "Sounds like that scrawny git gets his news from Karen White and bloody Twitter so consider the source." 

"I guess. He's not scrawny, though. He would've kicked my arse. I don't know what I was thinkin'. I have to go back to school Monday. Bloody hell."

"Well....stick with your friends. Walk away from him if he starts up. Remember, you don't have to defend us. And let us know what's going on. Don't shut us out." He looked Tom straight in the eye. "I shut my wife and my daughter out when I was in trouble and I won't make that mistake again with your mum. We've all kept our share of secrets and it just made things worse. If somethin' happens, tell us before you get in over your head. We love ya." 

It was the longest speech Alec had ever given Tom, the first really fatherly advice. 

He realized he was holding his breath a bit waiting for the reaction. Tom nodded. He took his plate to the sink, rinsed it off and walked past Alec's side of the table on the way out, snatching up his comic book. 

Before he left the room Tom reached out and briefly patted Alec's shoulder awkwardly. He mumbled "thanks" and left the kitchen.

Alec took what he could get. It was actually quite a bit more than he'd hoped for.

 

*******

Hours later Ellie came into their bedroom to find Alec asleep on top of the duvet with case file papers arranged around him. The paper he was reading was on his chest, moving slowly up and down with his deep breathing. She smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. She gently removed his reading glasses, with much different intent than a few days ago. 

Alec puffed out a breath and began to stir. He blinked owlishly at Ellie. "Didn't mean to doze off," he mumbled.

"Wouldn't have bothered you but for all these papers. I am not disturbin' the DI Hardy filing system." 

"Wee mate asleep?" Alec asked, sitting up. He began to gather up his papers. When there was a space, Ellie crawled over him and took her place on her side of the bed.

"He was falling asleep in the tub. That's what you get when you go to the park then refuse to take a nap."

Alec glanced at the clock. It was half eleven. "Later than I thought, then."

"I went up to Tom's room after I put Fred in bed. I noticed Tom was little more talkative when we were eatin' tonight." She leaned forward and kissed Alec gently. He raised his eyebrow in a silent question. "You got him to open up. Thank you." She kissed him again. "I hoped you would."

"I had no idea what I was gonna say. I hoped it wasn't the wrong thing."

"You did fine as far as I can see. He told me all about it. What the kid said, how he baited Tom. We're gonna have to keep an eye on that situation. I probably will call the school on Monday and give them a heads up." She lay back on her pillow. "Guess it's never over for him. We changed schools, but it didn't help. What Joe did will always follow him around." She covered her eyes with her hand. 

Alec knew she was covering tears. He pulled her to him so he could wrap his arms around her. He held her tight, feeling the shaking of her body as she cried. 

"I mean, did Joe ever think? D'ya think he ever spared a thought for Tom or any of the rest of us when he was lookin' at Danny?"

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. As always, he never knew quite what to say when she cried, especially about Joe. He was just glad she allowed him to comfort her. He kissed her hair and squeezed her. "I've given up tryin' to understand Joe."

"We had such a good summer and it breaks my heart he has to have Joe's mistakes thrown in his face now that school's started." She had gotten control of the tears. "It's still better than it was before we switched schools, I suppose. There's that." She took a deep breath and said determinedly, "This cannot define him, I couldn't stand it if all people saw was the son of the child murderer."

"Ellie, I don't think they do! He's a good kid and the people at the school know that. He was more worried that you thought he'd turn out like Joe one day."

Tears bloomed again. "I know. He told me. And you know what, I did wonder, once. Right before you asked me to help you with Sandbrook. I remembered what Susan said, how death gets its claws in you. And I wondered. I know he's a good kid. I just worried. I was alone and scared and my mind was goin' off in all sorts of directions."

"We don't know what's gonna happen. We are just gonna do the best we can. He's a good boy. He's more like you than you think. I see it all the time."

She gave a watery chuckle. "So what you're sayin' is he's much more likely to just flat out beat someone up." By his answering smirk she saw that the thought had crossed his mind.

He shrugged. She muttered "wanker" with a smirk of her own. She smacked his shoulder.

"See, there ya go," Alec grinned. She rolled her eyes and snuggled into him. 

"Thank you," she said again in a whisper. "I love you."

"I love you, Ellie. You and your boys."

"You knew what to say to Tom, and to me. For an awkward git who really can have trouble communicating you really did great today."

"Guess it was a good day for me. I do have them once in a while." He kissed her forehead. "Think you can sleep, or are you too worked up?" 

"I need to get to sleep." A gust of wind rattled the window. The first real storm of the autumn was settling in. It was a sign that the summer was decidedly over. "Gonna get ready for bed. It'll be a nasty night from the looks of it." She crawled out of bed with a sigh and went into their ensuite. 

Alec stretched and got up, turning the duvet down. Thunder rumbled and there was rustling on the baby monitor. He figured he'd probably have a little boy climbing in with them if the storm got too bad. He paused and listened but didn't hear any more sounds from Fred's room. 

Alec hoped Tom would sleep well, that the storm and the worry over the next day didn't trouble him. He wished he could offer some sort of solution that would ease Ellie's and Tom's minds, but there wasn't one. They could only stick together and love each other and hope that would be enough. 

Alec crawled under the covers and turned on his side to face Ellie's space on the bed. Before too long, she came out in her warm pajamas and he opened his arms to her. They curled up and began to relax sheltered in each other arms while the storm began to kick up in earnest outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is about the fourth version of Tom and Alec's story. It went off in a different direction than I thought it would and I'm mostly happy with how it turned out, but it was a tough one! One more story to go with the boys and Alec and Ellie.....


	6. The Hardys and the Millers on a Dark and Stormy Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a dark and stormy night......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had intended there to be only one more chapter in which Ellie and Tom got their moment but this one popped into my head. So for now, there'll be one more chapter after this one with Ellie and Tom.  
> I was actually going to stick a story about a storm at the end of Alec and Tom's story but it made that chapter too long and it took on a life of its own. It's pretty silly and fluffy and a wee bit cracky perhaps.

The weather was horrible the long weekend Daisy came back to stay with the family. Outdoor activities had been a washout, so Saturday evening was spent at the arcade, bowling, which Daisy and Alec hadn't done together in many, many years. It was a good evening even if the activities brought out the competitive side in Tom, Daisy and Alec. The result left Tom crowing about how he planned to frame the picture he took of the scores. 

By the time they were leaving the arcade the wind had picked up, blowing litter some sand across the car park. Fred began whining almost immediately.

"He doesn't like weather to touch him," Ellie explained to Daisy, who snorted out a laugh. Ellie stopped to pick Fred up.

"No, Daddy!" Fred was having none of that and he extended his little arms to Alec, who picked him up with a smile. He gave the boy a squeeze. This was so new, just in the span of a couple of days Fred had figured out who everyone was to him. And Alec was Daddy. Fred nestled his head on Alec's shoulder. Alec glanced at Daisy, who had heard Fred call him Daddy a couple of times that weekend. She gave him a little smile back. Alec hoped that meant she was fine with it.

The wind kicked up a hard gust, which prompted the family to move a bit faster to their car. 

 

Their new house was sturdily built, to Ellie's relief. The old house on Lime Street was creaky and she always thought that one really good gust would either fell a tree onto the roof over Tom's old room or just take the roof off. 

The roof seemed secure on this one. The only complaint was that a shutter on one of the attic windows had come loose and banged against the house if the wind hit it right. The wind was hitting it right this night. Alec and Ellie had meant to do something about that shutter but the weather became too nasty. 

The first raindrops started to fall as Alec unlocked the back door. He had to unlock the main lock and the deadbolt and it took a little time. Even with the kids starting to kick up a fuss about getting wet, the extra security was worth it. He turned on their kitchen light when they finally all got in and almost immediately it flickered. It was just long enough to set every digital clock in the house flashing. "Well, I'm not gonna bother settin' any of them. We'll probably lose power again before the night's over," Ellie said. 

The teenagers immediately decided that they'd better charge their phones before the power failed again. After every mobile in the house was plugged in somewhere, Fred's nighttime routine began. Not surprisingly, he resisted. Lightning was starting to flash outside. 

As she was dressing him in his Mario Brothers pajamas he startled when thunder rumbled in the distance. "Angels are goin' bowling just like we did," Ellie told him, rubbing his back soothingly. 

Fred thought about that. Another rumbled of thunder. "Angel get a spare?" he asked. Tom had picked up a lot of spares. Fred had picked up a lot of bowling vocabulary. 

Ellie giggled. "I think so, sweetie."

In the end it took the combined efforts of Mumma and Daddy, four books and six kisses from Daisy to finally convince Fred it was safe to sleep while the Angels had their bowling tournament. 

"I'm betting that's not the last we see of him tonight," Alec said. They had finally tiptoed out of Fred's room. The wind rattled the windows.

"We'll be gettin' a visit for sure. It's getting really nasty. Think Tom would be able to sleep up in the attic with that shutter slammin' the wall? He could sleep in Fred's room tonight, " Ellie suggested.

"He's got his headphones on. He's tuning it out," Alec pointed out. "I'm pretty sure Daisy has hers too...." He slid an arm around Ellie's waist. "So..."

Ellie grinned. "So..." He flashed her that look that always made her heart flip and stepped closer to her.

"I think everyone's ears are occupied." He leaned in for a snog and she stepped back.

"We'll have to keep our ears open for the wee one," she reminded him. He closed the distance. She could feel his breath on her cheek when he replied.

"I can multitask." He leaned in.

"I love that about you," she murmured just as their lips met. She had a vague notion that they should probably just take it to the bedroom but then his lips were on hers and her hand had migrated to the back of his head, threaded into his hair. It was a favorite place for her hand to be, for both of them. 

They were pulled out of the moment by the clearing of a throat behind them.

Daisy was standing there, smirking.

All Ellie could do was laugh, her head on Alec's shoulder. "Multitask, my arse," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Need somethin'?" Alec asked gruffly.

"Quilt from the closet," Daisy said, pointing at the closet. She walked over and opened the closet door, snickering. Ellie was still giggling. "Still less embarassin' than when Mum and Dave do that," Daisy added under her breath. As she was looking through the linens, the lights flickered again. 

"Grab an extra torch," Alec advised. It sounded like a proper gale outside. There was a loud clap of thunder and a gust of wind. The sound of the shutter upstairs startled them more than the thunder, however, and it wasn't long before Tom shot down the stairs. 

"The window cracked!" He announced. 

All other activities were suspended as Alec went up to investigate with Ellie and Daisy following. There was no glass on the floor, luckily, but it was a large crack. They did a temporary fix with some cardboard and tape, but they decided Tom needed to sleep downstairs. As they descended the attic stairs, the lights flickered off and stayed off. Daisy had a torch and immediately switched it on. The power failure was followed immediately by vivid lightning and a very loud clap of thunder. They hurried down to the second floor by the light of the torch. 

Fred was wailing. "Mumma! Daddy! Come get me!"

"Comin', love," Ellie called. She pulled her phone out and put on its light. 

Wee Fred was standing in the middle of his room in the darkness, struggling manfully not to cry. "Mummy! It's too dark!" 

"The storm made the lights go out, sweetie."

"Make 'em go back?" he asked hopefully, glancing at his Lightning McQueen night light. 

"I can't, Fred. The electricity's off. You want to lie back down again? I'll stay with you a bit...."

"No! I go with you," he demanded. They were at an impasse. The thunder rumbled loudly again and Fred flinched. The decision made, Ellie scooped up her boy and met up with the rest of the family in the hall. Alec was digging more torches out of the closet.

He was also grumbling. "How the bloody hell do we only have one f-" He censored himself before he could expose Fred to a vulgarity. (Not that Fred hadn't already been from time to time but it was best just not to reinforce it.). "One torch that actually works?!" he finished.

"We have our phones at least, until the batteries start running down,". Ellie sighed. 

"This one works," Tom said. It was a camping lantern. 

"Okay, two. We have six. Don't you want to get some sleep, wee mate?" Alec reckoned he already knew the answer.

"We're having a slumber party," Ellie explained. She carried Fred into their bedroom without another word. Alec sighed and resigned himself to a night with small knees pressed into his back. He followed Ellie and the teenagers tagged along as the windows rattled. Ellie sat up against the headboard with Fred curled into her lap. She grinned as Daisy lay down next to her on the other side and Tom turned the camping lantern on and sat down at the foot of the bed. Alec stopped in the middle of the room and took in sight, lit dimly by the lantern, that lay before him. 

"Room for me?" He asked with a bit of a scowl.

"Always," Ellie replied with a crooked smile. Daisy giggled. Ellie scooters herself and Fred toward the middle and Alec sat down on the small bit of bed that was allotted to him.

Fred suddenly looked distressed. "My Tee!" he moaned. Alec looked confused then recalled that that was Fred's name for his Tigger doll. 

"Could you....?" Ellie asked him apologetically.

"Fred, you're gonna have Mum and Dad to snuggle up to all night. Do we really need Tee?" Alec just wanted to settle in for the night, even if he was going to be crowded out of his side of the bed. 

"Tee be 'cared, Dad." Fred said seriously. 

So she wouldn't hurt Fred's feelings Daisy rolled over and muffled her laughter into the pillow. Ellie could feel the mattress shaking beside her. The look of resignation on Alec's face was priceless. 

A few minutes later Tee was rescued from where he was cowering under the bed. When Alec came back all the kids and Ellie were sitting up on the bed talking and giggling, so sleep wasn't happening anytime soon. 

He sat down by Ellie. Ellie was grinning, eyes sparking. Even in the dim light of the camping lantern he found her beautiful. She was always telling him that happiness looked good on him. It looked equally wonderful on Ellie. "I'm starting to feel a little like Maria Von Trapp with all these children hiding on my bed while it storms outside. I should start singing 'My Favorite Things.'"

Tom's eyes widened. "Please don't, Mum," he said immediately.

"What, and pass up the opportunity to mortify you?" She started humming 'My Favorite Things.'

"That movie's so brilliant. I want Maria's wedding dress," Daisy said dreamily.

"Stop hummin', Mum," Tom interjected.

"I don't do musicals," Alec added with the look he reserved for bloody Twitter. Ellie rolled her eyes. Of course he didn't.

"Oh, Dad, they're brilliant. Les Mis..." Daisy gushed.

"Good one!" Ellie agreed.

"Why watch a movie that tells us right off they're gonna be miserable," Alec wondered. Tom nodded. Ellie chuckled.

"Did it strike a little too close to home?" Ellie smirked. Daisy guffawed. Fred yawned hugely.

"And on that note....." Alec said. Tom got up and started rolling out the foam rubber sleeping mat and laid his sleeping bag on it. "You're sleepin' in here too?" Tom nodded. The lightning flashed again.

Daisy jumped up. "Isn't my sleeping bag in my closet? I'm not being left out." She grabbed a torch and hopped up. 

"Just be glad there's only room for one kid in the bed," Ellie reminded Alec. She helped Fred under the covers, tucking him in with Tee.

 

An hour later (his phone told him it was half one), Daisy was on a pallet on the floor by Ellie's side of the bed and Tom was on one by Alec's side. He hoped he would remember since Tom was between him and the loo. 

Fred's knees were not pressed into Alec's back but his arm was across his chest and his Tee was tucked into Alec's side. Fred was pretty well tucked into his side, too.

Ellie stirred and opened her eyes sleepily. She had Fred's feet pressed into her. They locked eyes, and she chuckled and started humming again.

"Stop it," he warned with a grin. 

"Love you," she whispered. Her two simple words communicated so much. I love you. I love our life. He hoped he communicated that to her with every word as well. 

Fred shifted and he snuggled up to Ellie with his feet in Alec's side. So both of them were taking turns, apparently. Despite that, they did sleep a bit, at least until the electricity came on at six and they realized just how many lights they had left on.


	7. Ellie and Tom Unpack Some Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom confides in Ellie as they finally unpack some boxes.

Ellie announced one morning a couple of weeks before Halloween that they had one weekend to get every single box unpacked from the move. "I can't find anything in that storage room in the attic. I finally have a house with an actual storage room and you lot threw unpacked boxes in it haphazardly. Now I cannot find the Halloween decorations. At all. So, if you want Drac this year, Thomas, then you better help me." She made this announcement at dinner, as she passed potatoes to her older son. 

Tom looked genuinely distressed, and Alec, being new to their holiday traditions, looked confused. "What's Drac?" he asked.

"Dracula," Ellie said with a look that communicated that he was a knob for asking. 

"I figured that much. Why's he so important to your enjoyment of the holiday?" Alec said, returning the look to Ellie.

"Lucy got this freaky looking Dracula you plug in and his face lights up and he moves. Mind you, Tom was eighteen months old. I thought it would terrify him and Lucy was a bloody frickin' idiot for giving it to him. Has blood on its teeth and everything."

"I'm guessing he loved it," Alec supposed.

"Yes, and guess what family had a literally bloody vampire under their Christmas tree that year. Someone wouldn't let me put it away. Finally sneaked it out after Valentine's." Alec chuckled and Tom looked down at his plate, grinning sheepishly. "He used to hug and kiss it."

"What does wee Fred think of him?"  
Alec asked, and wee Fred grinned hugely at him. 

"I don't know if Fred remembers it at all," Ellie said, and with a sigh she added, "We didn't get any decorations out last year for Halloween, then we spent Christmas at Lucy's and...anyway. This weekend we are unpackin' for real." 

The abrupt change of subject didn't escape Alex's notice. It hadn't occurred to him, until then, how the holidays must have been for her. Christmas had just been another day for him, passed in a haze of feeling ill and missing Daisy. He knew Tom had moved in with Lucy by then so he imagined the Millers had very little to celebrate as well. He wished he'd at least have called her. Nothing to be done about it now, he thought, except to make the upcoming one better.

"Sounds like a plan," Alec agreed, thinking a change of subject was what they needed.

********

Saturday morning dawned earlier than any of the male population of the house wanted. (Except for perhaps Fred. He always fought getting up to go to nursery school or the child minder's. Saturday and Sunday he was up with the roosters. )

Ellie was caffeinated and ready to roll when Tom and Alec finally dragged themselves out of their beds. She was very determined to get things started. They rarely had weekends in which she and Alec were both not at work. She had the air of an army drill sergeant about her as she announced, "I won't have this house littered with half done projects. For God's sake, we've been here since the summer! Are we gonna be here a year before we unpack?"

Tom and Alec were not awake enough to deal with Ellie ranting but they both understood the reason. Joe had let a lot of things go around their old house as his mind was occupied by other subjects. 

Alec had his own boxes under the bed and in their closet to unpack, so he set Fred up with his wooden train set on the floor of his and Ellie's room while Tom and Ellie tackled the storage area. 

A little less than a quarter of Tom's attic bedroom was walled off to create a small storage room. It had some shelves which were mostly dusty. They had dumped several boxes in there when they got what they needed in their rush to move out of the old house. The old house had finally been sold, and the new owners were a newly married couple in need of furniture. Ellie wanted to be rid of it. It had worked out well for both parties. She hoped that the new couple in the house were able to make happier memories there than hers had.

The boxes in front of them represented the last of that old life as the Miller family. They were thrown together in a hurry, so God only knew what was in them. She saw one tote marked Christmas so she at least knew where that was. And she was really glad she had gotten rid of nearly all of Joe's things right before they moved, so at least those things wouldn't be popping up. 

Tom followed her in and immediately sneezed. "Can I claim allergies?" He mumbled.

"Nope," his mum, who had very sharp ears, replied. "Pick a box. If we don't have good reason to keep it, it's either donated or binned."

They started out working mostly silently. Ellie opened a box to find Disney World souvenirs right off the bat, and at that moment she realized that maybe it wouldn't be as easy as she thought. She resolved right then to look at everything with a copper's eye, like it was evidence. Without emotion. That idea was turned on its ear immediately when she found one a picture of Tom and Joe, taken on the Space Mountain ride. Normally, she wouldn't have spent money on a ride picture but the look of wonder on Tom's face sold her. She remembered it all. Standing in line, shunting Fred from hip to hip, passing him off to Joe. Joe and Tom playing with the interactive games in the queue. Tom getting off the tide wide eyed and wild haired and grasping at Ellie's hand to go get into the child swap line so he could go again. He rode it six times that day. At the end of the day Fred sat in Joe's shoulders, wearing his little headphones to muffle the noise of the fireworks going off around the castle. They ate Dole whips and enjoyed the show.

Five days later Ellie was meeting DI Alec Hardy trying to console Beth Latimer on the beach when she was fairly inconsolable herself. 

Ellie wasn't sure if her heart was in this project anymore, but as she was spearheading it, she reckoned she'd better buck up and get on with it. Better now than months down the road. It wasn't as if it would hurt any less then. Rip off the plaster and be done. "Holiday souvenirs, I suppose," she said. "Not surprised. I don't think we unpacked properly until..." After Joe was arrested, she finished the thought in her head. Tom started to rifle through the box. He set aside stuffed bear in a Magic Kingdom shirt and a Space Mountain snow globe.

"Did we ever get the pictures printed?" he asked.

She had to think. "Well...no. I guess I didn't. Not the ones on the camera." She realized she hadn't even used the camera since Florida. "Guess we'll have to go through those pictures too. We'll delete what we don't want to keep and maybe put the others in an album?" 

"Sure," Tom agreed. He didn't much care either way, which he thought was an odd way to think of a holiday he had been anticipating since his parents had surprised him with the news two Christmases ago. He set aside a few items. "Fred might want these." He held up Mickey ears with Fred's name embroidered on the back. 

"That's good," Ellie said. "Mind if I start on this box?" Tom nodded and he continued with the Disney trip box. Ellie found photo albums in hers. "Bloody hell, this is not going to be a trip down memory lane! Puttin' these on the shelf." She made quick work of it, finishing the box off by putting Tom's thick baby book and Fred's rather thin one next to each other on the shelf. She could revisit them later. What matters was that there was a box to break down and get out of the way.

"Mum...d'ya think we'll see Joe again any time soon?"

Ellie looked up from her box. The answer she wanted to give was 'no', but she didn't want to patronize him. "I imagine we will, at some point," she sighed. "You know that he is absolutely never to pick you up from school. Only me, Alec, Aunt Lucy, Olly or Beth."

He rolled his eyes. He'd only heard this a million times. "I know, Mum. I wouldn't go with him, anyway. Ever." He took a deep breath, clearly struggling with his next question. "Mum......do I have to see him for Christmas?" 

"He hasn't contacted me," Ellie replied. She hadn't realized this was on his mind. Her heart broke again, seeing her son's distressed expression. "I would say no, you're not."

"I don't want to see him. I started thinking about it because Alec wants Daisy to come and I thought, what if......"

"I'm not reaching out to him, if that's what you're worried about. Joe signed over his rights and really can't demand anything."

Tom mumbled, "Alec's a good dad," he said. "Daisy's lucky."

"Tom, for eleven years I thought you had a good dad. He's done something horrible, and I don't understand him anymore. But for a long time he did right by you and Fred." Tom nodded.

"I don't want to understand why he did it anymore," he sighed. "I'm done with that. I don't want to see him again. Would he ever come after us?"

"I think he's a coward. I don't think he'd come back to Broadchurch because I don't honestly think he'd last very long, and he knows it." She prayed that it was true. She'd thought about it a lot. How long would he stay a coward? Always? Would he decide that he wanted what he lost? She felt safer in this house with the locks Alec wanted put on and the security system he insisted on. Alec was dedicated to keeping them safe. She knew there were many of the Broadchurch police officers who still kept unofficial tabs on Joe. She felt, though, it was inevitable that he'd show up again. She was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, no matter how good things were with Alec. She knew at least, with Alec, she wouldn't have to face it alone.

"I hope," Tom said.

"You know Alec and I are going to make sure you feel safe,"Ellie assured him.

Tom nodded and became very engrossed in his box. Ellie took it to mean that he was finished discussing it. She wished she could stop thinking about it as easily as he could drop the subject.

*****

They made progress slowly, and mostly silently, commenting on things they found, which were mostly innocuous. Four boxes were tossed into Tom's room to break down later. In the fifth box Tom made a discovery. "Hey!" he crowed. He pulled out a little figure, less than a meter tall. It was clad in a black suit and cape. Its' face was as frightfully ugly as ever. Tom still loved it.

Ellie laughed. "Knew we'd find him eventually. See any other Halloween things?"

"Couple of plastic pumpkins. That's all." He was still holding Drac. "I'll have to see if the light works."

"When you get married and have kids, you get Drac. You should, much as you love that daft thing."

Tom snorted. It sounded like laughter but his face was grim. "Don't think that's gonna happen."

Ellie stared at him, surprised. "Aw, really, sweetheart?" 

"Why should I? Not like it's gonna turn out well. What if I find a girl and she turns out to be crazy and hurts someone......Or she's a cheater." That last comment made her wonder exactly how much he knew about Daisy's situation. About how much Daisy knew. 

"Why would you think that?" She decided to tackle the subject head on.

"Mark cheated," Tom replied.

Okay, maybe he didn't know about Daisy's situation.

"What if you find a wonderful girl, who by some miracle, is someone I think is good enough for you, and you fall in love?"

Tom shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know if it's worth it." Ellie's heart broke a little to hear him say that. Then he asked, "Do you love Alec like you did...him?"

Ellie paused, then answered. "No, it's not the same. I was young and naive when I married your dad. I thought I had the perfect life. He was the fairytale man. I thought that it'd always be Ellie and Joe and our boys. Just as I'm sure Alec thought it would always be Tess and him and Daisy." She ruffled her son's hair and he tolerated it for a few seconds before he ducked away. "Alec and I have been through a lot together. He believed in me when a lot of people didn't. He's my best friend and I love him and I intend to stay with him. But I guess the difference is we know how easily it could all be taken from us so we appreciate it all the more now. And I trust him. I can trust him with you boys." 

"It was just weird at first, the pair of you dating. But it didn't take long to like him, because I could tell he wouldn't ever hurt you like Dad did. And he makes you happy, " Tom said and once again Ellie was overwhelmed by how mature he was becoming. 

"He does. He makes me very happy."

"Even when you're yellin' at each other?" Tom asked with a smirk.

Ellie grinned sheepishly. "Even then. And it's worth it. Worth his grouchiness and inability to communicate before seven a.m. Worth it when we've both been workin' late and the house is a mess. Even when we're rushin' to get everyone out of the house in the mornings and we're all barkin' at each other. It's not perfect and I love it that way. He loves you and Fred so much. That makes it worth it, too." Tom nodded. "Don't give up now. Honey, you're barely into your teens."  
She wrapped him in her arms, in a big squeezing hug and she didn't let go until he reached his limit and wriggled away. She gave him a smirk. "Of course, at the same time, you've got plenty of time for love after university and starting a good job and y'know....gettin a house on a tropical island so we can stay with you four months out of the year when we're retired. We've decided we're spending retirement with you lot entertaining us. Better get good jobs." Tom grinned and rolled his eyes, it was a close as Ellie would get for a laugh at a mum joke.

Of course,Tom recognized that she was trying to distract him. But that didn't matter at the moment. Tom found it quite soppy to admit it, but he was glad to see his mum smiling again. 

*****

By lunch they had made it through all the boxes, and Ellie announced her "I told you so" loudly. "See! It's lunch and we're done! All we have to do is break down the boxes!"

Alec and Fred had other plans. "To celebrate us being forced to unpack..." Ellie shot him a glare. "To celebrate a job well done, we're building box forts in the back garden. If like to join us you're welcome to." 

"I'll be there with my camera," Ellie assured him with a chuckle.

"What, you think I can't build a box fort?" Alec said gruffly, mildly offended that his building abilities were apparently being called into question. "I'll have you know I made some amazing creations when Daisy was four and we had to replace the refrigerator and the dishwasher. We throughly entertained ourselves with those boxes for over two weeks."

"I don't doubt it, love." She kissed him on top of the head as she walked by him to deposit her dish in the sink. 

"I'm feelin' ever so slightly patronized but we'll show 'em, right, mate," Alec said to Fred. Fred nodded enthusiastically, completely unaware of why he was agreeing. Ellie snorted. 

"Sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon," Ellie declared.

******  
After plugging Drac in by the fireplace, they went out to the back garden with the boxes and Alec and Fred had a grand time building and knocking over box forts. Alec realized quickly that while Daisy had been a box decorator, Fred was all about fort destruction. 

Tom sat on the swing, playing with his phone while Ellie sat cross legged on the swing with her phone, snapping pictures as Alec and Fred played. She resolved then, watching the two of them, that she would spend less time waiting for the other shoe to drop and more time appreciating the moment they were in. If they had to face Joe again, she could deal with it, with this man beside her. 

He flashed her an eye crinkling grin and helped Fred pile on more boxes. She gave him a brilliantly answering smile. She fell in love with Alec over and over again on any given day, and she hoped that one day all the children would find that with someone one day. She especially hoped that Alec's example would influence Tom more than the damage Joe inflicted upon all of them. She sent up a prayer that it would, then put down her phone and joined Fred and Alec. She gave their fort a mighty shove and laughed uproariously at their comic looks of surprise. 

It really was a great way to spend the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, this is the last chapter of Parenthood. But who knows, there could be more, or possibly a sequel later on their timeline. I love writing these parenting stories.


End file.
